Your thesis, that he has developed a nastier side in response to all the criticism, and that the nastier side is now being reflected in the team, is an interesting one. I hope you are right, because I have always had a real issue with the lack of killer instinct. I want the Packers to play more like the Patriots, who, to use Jersey Al’s phrase, go out and execute teams like cold-blooded killers.

The other issue I have had with McCarthy is that he can’t seem to bring himself to admit a mistake. He would always “do the same thing again.” He always has no second thoughts about the call. Now, maybe he really does know when mistakes are made, but he just doesn’t like to admit it because it will just lead to more second-guessing. But the problem is that we never know if he realizes there was a mistake, or not. I would feel better if he could just come out and admit it, because then I would feel reassured that he won’t do the same dumb thing the next time.

Plain and simple, he’s being smart. He’s coaching very good, and his preparation for each game in the last couple weeks has been fantastic.

Time will only tell if this is the new MM, but I have a feeling he realizes what needs to be done to be effective, and I can’t imagine him going away from it.